This years theme for the Met Gala, was Camp. Camp you say? What the heck is camp? Well, here’s a definition that might make it a bit more understandable.
CAMP: “love of the unnatural: of artifice and exaggeration, style at the expense of content. the triumph of the epicene style. It has elements of irony, humor, parody, pastiche, artifice, theatricality, excess, extravagance, nostalgia, and exaggeration.” (The Cut)
Now looking at these looks that went down the carpet, it looked like people interpreted the word “camp,” in either the category of theatricality and exaggeration or in a more ironic and humorous way. Some people just missed the mark entirely, but here are my favorite looks that went down the carpet.
Women
Cara Delevingne is wearing a Christian Dior ensemble and it’s a big piece of Pop Art. It reminds me of a combination of Willie Wonka and Andy Warhol; and both of those people are super campy in my eyes. I love how the whole outfit is see-through, so that your eye focuses on only the rainbow stripes, and that it leads you all the way up to her campy headdress. I thought it was good styling that the jewelry was minimal and that the only makeup you saw, was the orange stripe on her face.
Image Source: Lily Collins Instagram
Lily Collins is wearing Giambattista Valli Haute Couture and is doing an exaggerated interpretation of Prescilla Presley’s wedding day look. The hair and makeup are vamped up a little bit, but it’s pretty much spot on to Prescilla’s look. I love the addition of the headband and the flowers to create a more campy look, and the touch of purple in the eyeshadow. The dress itself isn’t immensely over the top, but it does look like it came out of the 60’s and looks a little out-dated, which I think makes it fit the camp style. It’s nostalgic of that time.
Image Source: Hailee Steinfeld Instagram
Hailee Steinfeld is wearing a Viktor & Rolf dress and I’m in love. I had seen some of these dresses from photos from the runway show, and I love the giant phrases on them. It screams camp and I’m glad that Hailee wore it. It has so much humor and especially for an event like The Met Ball, the “no photos please” phrase was a perfect choice. I also liked the styling choice to make Hailee look like a little girl wearing a giant party dress. She has the big bow in her hair, her hair is curled in tight curls and if you look at closer images of her face, she’s had a lot of freckles added.
Image Source: Christian Siriano Twitter
Janelle Monáe is wearing Christian Siriano and I’m not totally sure what the look is suppose to evoke. Maybe a masculine vs feminine theme, but I think it’s eye catching either way. Janelle is always wearing outfits that are outside the box, so I knew she was going to bring it to The Met Gala. The exaggeration of the proportions of the dress, are great, and even beyond that, Christian Siriano decided to do some cutouts on the top and create a giant eye as part of the bra-piece, I guess you could call it. It’s also giving me Pop Art/ Picasso vibes and the hat is a masterpiece in itself. I like the touch of pink on the one hat, to pull it together with the rest of the ensemble. It’s a lot to look at, but Janelle makes it work.
Image Source: The Met Twitter
Katy Perry is wearing Moschino and she never disappoints. She always keeps to the theme at The Met Gala, and she really outdid herself this time. First of all, choosing Moschino to dress her, was a great idea, because Jeremy Scott is the king of camp, when it comes to fashion. Everything he creates is full of humor and parodied on things that already exist. Even though dressing as a chandelier doesn’t seem super campy at first, when you think about it for a minute, just the fact that a human being is dressing up as an extravagant object, which happens to be a lighting source, is very campy. It’s definitely unnatural. The best part about the outfit, is that the lights actually work! That’s super cool and probably took a lot of engineering to make possible. And besides this look, if you look at pictures of Katy inside the party, she changed into another Moschino ensemble, which was as a hamburger. Amazing!
Source for images: Elle Fanning Instagram
Elle Fanning is wearing Miu Miu and looks like Malibu Barbie! Quite a few people decided to go the Barbie inspired route, but I think Elle did the best job. She became Barbie, but took it to the next level, with the accessories. That necklace was specifically made for the event, which is cool, because they threw together a bunch of campy objects and added the words “camp” and “the met.” Also, those nails are the coolest. I’m sure Elle had a hard time using her hands with things dangling from her nails, but it definitely adds to the look. Other than that, her outfit is pretty simple, but the color used, was pretty smart. Very retro.
Lena Dunham & Jemima Kirk are wearing Christopher Kane and these are other looks that I’m still kind of scratching my head about because I had to look up what a looner and a rubberist is, and they are both fetishes. One for balloons and the other for wearing rubber. I never thought about fetishes being camp, but they are pretty unnatural. These two were definitely going for the humor route. Their giant jewel bags are also fun and quirky.
Image Source: Diane Von Furstenberg Instagram
Diane Von Furstenberg is wearing one of her own creations and she definitely outdid herself. For starters, it’s camp in itself for her to be wearing a dress of her own face on it, but what makes this look extra camp, is that the portrait of Diane that is seen on her dress, was originally created by Andy Warhol, who was all this concept. To add to her look, Diane decided to take her influence from The Statue of Liberty.
Image Source: Lupita Nyong’o Instagram
Lupita Nyong’o is wearing Versace and she looks like she came from Studio 54. The glitzy star dress, with the multi-colored feathers, scream camp, and I love how everything else is styled. It was so innovative to take a hair styling tool, like the Afro pick, and make it an accessory. We’ve seen men walk around with picks in their hair before, but I like how the picks in Lupita’s hair are gold and used in a totally different way.
Image Source: Tracee Ellis Ross Instagram
Tracee Ellis Ross is wearing Moschino and this creation was such an interesting concept. Of course it was created by the great Jeremy Scott, and it translates in many ways. It frames the famous person, which in this case is Tracee, and makes her the center of attention. I like that the frame is the focus, and besides that, the rest of the dress itself, is simple, yet elegant. My only negative thought, is that I feel bad for Tracee, because I’m sure she was uncomfortable walking down the red carpet, because she had to keep her arms in an awkward position the whole way down.
Men
Image Source: Matt Winkel Meyer Instagram
Billy Porter is wearing The Blonds and he definitely made an entrance. He took camp to the next level and arrived with men carrying him like a God. This outfit is basically art itself and talk about theatricality. I love that Billy has been turning heads at all the events that he goes to and I think he’s making waves in the fashion world. He’s not afraid to break the rules of men’s fashion and I applaud him for it. At The Met Gala, we always get blown away by what the women are wearing, but I think the women have to watch out now, because Billy might by surpassing them.
Image Source: The Met Instagram
Ryan Murphy is wearing Christian Siriano and this was definitely an ode to Liberace, who was camp in his own right. I love the color palette of this, with the mix of gold and rose gold and Ryan looks like he came out of the sea. The amount of pearls on his cloak is unreal and his tux and bow tie are bedazzled to the nines. I think he pulls it off really well, but my only request, is for him to fix his tie.
Image Source: Mimi Choi Instagram
Ezra Miller is wearing Burberry and I’m not totally sure what his look is suppose to symbolize with the many faces, but I love it anyway. Like other attendees, Ezra decided to mix his ensemble with both masculine and feminine touches, and I think it works. The train flowing from the end of his jacket, is very cool and I’m in love with the diamond corset. It kind of reminds me of something Madonna would have worn while performing her song, Vogue. The makeup is amazing, because it looks so life like, and that mask is perfectly made.
Image Source: Ashley Weston Instagram
Darren Criss is wearing Balmain and looks like a cross of a matador and a man from the French Rococo Era. Both of these influences, are pretty camp in style because they are both flashy and exaggerated. I like how his stylist decided to keep a monochromatic look, besides the jacket and his makeup. It really makes you take a detailed look at the craftsmanship of the jacket and how intricate the design really is. And even though the bow around his neck is black, it still ups the campiness because of how large and exaggerated it is. Lastly, it was an interesting choice to apply makeup, because it then blurs the line of how you think of the outfit as a whole. Does it veer on more feminine or more masculine?
Image Source: RuPaul Instagram
RuPaul is wearing Zaldy and out of all the people that attended the Gala, I’m pretty sure everyone was excited to see what RuPaul was going to wear because he’s the epitome of camp. He’s the most famous drag queen in the world and he never disappoints in the fashion department. I will say, that I wish he had come in full drag, but either way, he brought it. His tuxedo is drenched in sequins, and lets not forget the zebra head, that is on his shoulder. I like that the zebra doesn’t completely take away from the the tux, but adds another element. I like how the mane cascades down Ru’s arm, and I also love the color palette. It’s neon, and I think it compliment RuPaul’s personality very well.
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